Trump reschedules trip to Colombia

US President Donald Trump has postponed a trip to meet with his Colombian counterpart Ivan Duque, officials said on Friday. The American leader was supposed to arrive in Bogota after the November 30-December 1 G20 meeting in Buenos Aires, but the White House said his “schedule will not allow him to travel to Colombia later this month.” “Colombia is one of our closest partners in Latin America and the two countries cooperate on counternarcotics, regional security and mutual economic prosperity,” the statement added. It said Trump “looks forward to future opportunities to engage,” following talks with Duque on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

The meeting had been initially set for December 2. The Colombian foreign ministry said the change was simply due to Trump’s “modified” travel plans in Latin America. Colombia and the United States have historically had a close relationship, with the US government providing millions of dollars in aid to combat drug trafficking and guerrillas. Both Duque and Trump have been harshly critical of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s leftist regime. Duque, who like Trump is a conservative, took office in August succeeding Juan Manuel Santos.